Lost in the shuffle between THE DEER HUNTER and APOCALYPSE NOW, this neat little war movie tells of the US presence in Vietnam in 1964, with advisor Lancaster commanding a small group of combat "advisors." Lancaster is ordered to send a platoon of Vietnamese militia (old men with
shotguns, commanded by Communist-hating mercenary Kim) and a squad of Americans under green lieutenant Unger to garrison an old French stronghold. A veteran of three wars, Lancaster argues that the site is of no value and that all putting troops there will accomplish is enticing the Viet Cong to
mass for an attack. He is overruled on the grounds that the French abandoned the spot and lost the war, "and we don't want to make the same mistake the French did." Lancaster is proved right, though, and before long the Viet Cong have besieged the isolated outpost.
The film features a typically fine performance by Lancaster, who wonders, through most of the film, why a draftee like Wasson would volunteer for combat duty. When Wasson explains that he wanted to know what a war was like, Lancaster exclaims, "I should have known it--you're a tourist!" Even at
this point in the war, the film makes it obvious that we don't belong there; the US Army command is portrayed as greedy and stupid, while the South Vietnamese appear to be thoroughly corrupt (Lancaster has to bribe the local warlord to give the battle some air support). The title derives from the
inscription above the French cemetery, quoting the doomed Spartans at Thermopylae: "Stranger, go tell the Spartans how we lie; loyal to their laws, here we die." leave a comment
